Apparatus for cleansing units of automotive vehicles



Dec. 29,1931. 1 H POTTER 1,839,119

APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING UNITS OF AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES Filed March 1, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m 81 g 1. 1 0 VI Q l i N Q h L w 1 N w 3' l w a 81mm: J-[aroZcZ JLPoiier,

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H. H. POTTER Dec. 29, 193 1.

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and easilv, cleaned of the old Patented v... 29, 193i mom 1;. 20mm, or KANSAS oI'rY, mssoum arramros m. cnnansinetmrs or AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES My invention relates to a'method' of and apparatus for cleansing the gear 'casings universal joints and other lubricatingunits of automotive vehicles andmay be employed to advantage at garages, filling stations and other service stations. 'Infcold'weatherthel grease in the casings cong eals and becomes hardened to such an extent thatit cannot be drainedofi preparatory to recharging with fresh grease and as aresult thecasings must be disassembled to a greater or lessfe rtentf V a i In constructing the nozzle an nner tube *10is'employed which preferably consists of f before they canbeproperly cleansed. I

One object of'the resent invention is'to provide-a simple an 'eflicient apparatus by means of which the} casings canbe quickly disassembling 1 said casings; 7

'A'further obfect is to p i-ovide' a portable apparatus for quickly reducing the old, hard- 'ened grease to a liquid or 'semiliquid. state and forcing it from the casingsby introduc ing into'the latter a blast of air heatedto a high temperature. In practice I have found that air under pressure of eight poundsper Isquar-e inch and heated to temperature of V sixfhundred and twenty degreesF. is'very efficient in cleansing the casings, although it is to be understood that good resultsxm'ay be had with other pressuresand temperatures.

In order that theinvention may be fully understood, reference will now be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus applied to the differential gear case of a motor vehicle.

Fig. 2 is a broken longitudinal section of a nozzle forming an important part of the invention. a

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the nozzle.

Fig. 4 is a cross section of the nozzle on line H of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a modification of the invention. Referring in detail to the different parts, 2 designates a suitable motor which is preferably of the electrical type, and 4 designates a blower which is preferably connected direct tothe motor shaft 6. For convenience in moving the apparatus around the motor 2 and the blower 4 are preferably mounted upon a truck 8 as shown by Fig. 1.

grease Without p v r Y "merit hereinafter described. Arran ed. ax-

1929. Serial m5. 343,737.

The nozzle 7 disclosed more clearly by Fi 2 may be made in various forms, but em odies a passageway, hereinafter referred to, through which an airblast from thethe air blast during its flow through sai passageway. The nozzle 7 is provided at its forward end with a jet, 9 which maybe ex changed for other jets for. connection with orf insertion into. thevarious lubricant units of an automotive vehicle.

metal lined with'insulating material 12 for Preventing Said t e from becoming charged with current from an electrical heating eleia'lly within the inner tube 10 is a 1101 ow core 14 "of suitable insulating material supported atfits endsbybra'ckets 16 which areriveted 10 or'otherwise'secured to said inner tube-10.

The hollow core 14-is of less diameter than thelining 12 to leave an intervening annular passageway-17 for the flow-of the air blowe 4 is forced, and means for heating 55" blast from the blower 4 through the nozzle 7.

The annular passageway 17 is preferably of f uniform diameter andjopen at both ends so as not to retard the flow of air ther'ethrough.

'Anel'ectrical heating unit 1818 wound] around the core'14 and in the present instance l consists-of a resistance wire Wound in small transverse convolutlons 20 and relativelylarge convolutions 22, which latterextend around the core 14. By thus forming the heating unit into minor and major convolutions alarge heating surface is provided which raises the temperature of theair blast in' 'its fiow through the passagewa 17 to a-high degree and byleaving spaces etweenn v said convolutions for the passage of the air blast'the' flow' of the latter will not be m: terially retarded. One .Bnd of the; heating unit 18 is connected to abindingpost 24' while its opposite end extends through the hollow core 14 and isattached to a binding/ post 26'secure'dbeside the binding post 24fl to'gthe' rear portion'of the inner tube "10. Circuit-wires 28 and 30 lead fromthe-binding 1 posts '24 ai1df26, respectively, to a suitable switch 27 provided; with "an extension cord 29 having a plug 31 which may be connected to an electric light socket or other suitable outlet.

The periphery of the inner tube 10 is covered with a jacket of insulating material 32 to prevent loss of heat by radiation, and said insulating material is enclosed in an outer tube 34 consisting preferably of polished metal for adding to the appearance and stability of the nozzle.

For convenience in handling the nozzle 7, I equip the rear end thereof with a pistol grip 36 provided at its upper end with a circular flange 38, which is removably secured to the rear ends of the inner and outer tubes 10 and 84 by suitable means such as screws 40' and 42, respectively.-

The forward end of the inner tube 10 is threaded into the rear end of a coupling member 44, into the front end of which latter the jet 9 is rcmovably threaded. The for ward end of the outer tube 34 has a slip joint connection 35 with the rear end of a member 46 threaded at its forward end upon the forward end of the coupling member 44, which latter is provided with a lock nut 48 for preventing accidental rotation of the member 46 when in place. The slip joint 35 permits the inner tube 10, which is subjected to a higher temperature than the outer tube 34 to expand and contract to a greater degree than said outer tube.

Referring again to the pistol grip 36- it will be noted that it has a threaded opening 50 in its lower end for the reception of a coupling 52 on the forward end of a hose 54 which is connected at its rear end to the outlet end of the blower 4.

With the parts arranged as shown and described it is apparent that when an electrical current passes through the heating element 18 the latter will attain a red heat and thereby raise the temperature of the air blast from the blower 4 to a high degree, so that when discharged under pressure and at a high temperature into a gear case or other lubricant unit of a motor vehicle the grease therein will bequickly reduced to a liquid state and forced from said gear case or other lubricant unit. It is also apparent that the apparatus may be employed to advantage for thawing out frozen radiators and carburetors, for drying wet ignition coils and other electrical units. In order to prevent the grease from spattering over the operator by being blown from the hole of the lubricant unit in which the jet 9 is inserted, I provide said jet with a shield 83 for sealing up said hole.

In the modified form disclosed by Fig. 5 the nozzle is constructed like the one disclosed by Fig. 2 as is evidenced by corresponding reference characters but instead of mounting the motor 2a and the blower 4a upon a truck they are connected together and the exhaustport of the blower 4a a second tubular member with exponents a,

is connected to a discharge pipe 54a communicating with the rear end of the nozzle 7 a. A handle 36a is secured to the motor 2a for convenience in manipulating the nozzle 7a.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings, it is apparent that I have provided an apparatus possessing the advantages above pointed out, and while I have" shown two forms of the invention I reserve all rights to such other forms as properly fall within the. spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus of the character described, .a. nozzle consisting of inner and outer tubes, said inner tube having an air inlet and an air outlet, a tubular handle communicating with the inlet of the inner tube and provided with a flange uniting one end of the inner and outer tubes, a tubular member secured to the other end of the inner tube and communicating with the outlet of the latter, connected to the first tubular member and the adjacent end of the outer tube, and an electric heating coil arranged within said inner tube.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a nozzle consisting of inner and outer tubes insulated from each other, said inner tube having an air inlet and an air outlet, suitable means connecting said inner and outer tubes, an insulated core arranged axially within the inner tube, an electric heating coil extending around said core and con sisting of minor and major convolutions spaced apart for the passage of air to be heated, means for introducing an air current into the inner tube, and a tip communicating with the air outlet of the inner tube and adapted to discharge the heated air into the lubricant casings of a motor vehicle.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

HAROLD H. POTTER. 

